Perspectives is the newsletter of the Stanford course,
Perspectives in Assistive Technology.

Assistive Robotics (on campus)

This issue announces the next class session (on campus)
and continues to solicit vendor participation in the course's Virtual Assistive Technology Faire.

Course News

In-person, In-classroom Instruction Resumes - Community members are welcome to attend class sessions on campus in Lathrop Library Classroom 282. Participants must attest to being vaccinated or receiving a negative COVID test result and wear a mask.

Parking Information - Please note that open parking on the Stanford campus begins at 4:00pm, the same time as the class session begins. So, your parking options are: To arrive on campus at 4:00pm to take advantage of the open parking and miss a few minutes of class. To arrive on campus a bit earlier than 4:00pm to be on time for the start of the class, incurring a small risk of getting a parking citation. Download and use "Zone Parking" or the ParkMobile app to pay for less than an hour of visitor parking. See the Classroom Location and Accessibility Information webpage for more information and links. Note: Individuals with state-issued disability parking placards (from any state) can park free in any marked space on campus.

Next Class Session (on campus) - Thursday, February 10th at 4:00pm PST

Abstract: The development of Assistive Technology benefits from the contributions of many areas of study. Engineering of physical devices plays a crucial role in meeting the needs of the user and improving the human experience. There are many user needs however, that would greatly benefit from systems capable of not only performing passively, but also from devices that can take action to directly help the user. The question becomes "How can an assistive device capable of taking action, determine the best action to take, in order to help the user at a given moment?". This question leads to the field of Robotics, which is the development of 'thinking' machines. While the term 'thinking' here is used very broadly, it can be simplified to the ability to observe a scenario (perception), 'think' or plan about what action to take (this could range from a simple feedback control principle to a machine learning model), then perform some action on the world to change the scenario in some way. Assistive Robotics is the field of study of applying all the advancements of robotics to assistive technology solutions that would benefit from 'thinking' devices. In this talk, I will highlight basic principles of 'thinking' machines, and discuss the application of these principles to assitive technology with a primary focus on work performed in the Stanford Assistive Robotics and Manipulation Laboratory (ARMLab).

Biosketch: Monroe Kennedy III received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, and a Masters in Robotics from the University of Pennsylvania where he was a recipient of both the NSF and GEM graduate research fellowships. His area of expertise is in robotics, specifically the development of theoretical and experimental approaches to perform control and estimation for robotic systems, in particular, robotic manipulation and human-robot collaborative tasks. He applies expertise in dynamical systems analysis, control theory (classical, non-linear, and robust control), state estimation and prediction, motion planning, vision for robotic autonomy, and machine learning.

Monroe is the director of the Assistive Robotics and Manipulation Lab (ARMLab) whose broad research objective is to develop technology that improves everyday life by anticipating and acting on the needs of human counterparts. ARMLab specializes in developing intelligent robotic systems that can perceive and model environments, humans and tasks and leverage these models to predict system processes and understand their assistive role. ARMLab focuses heavily on both the analytical and experimental components of assistive technology design. While the application area domain is autonomous assistive technology, the primary focus is robotic assistants (mobile manipulators and humanoids) with the goal of deployment for service tasks that may be highly dynamic and require dexterity, situational awareness, and human-robot collaboration.

Upcoming Class Sessions (on campus unless noted otherwise)

Tuesday, February 15th - VA Palo Alto Health Care System Thursday, February 17th - Virtual Assistive Technology Faire (by Zoom) Tuesday, February 22nd - The Design and Control of Exoskeletons for Rehabilitation

Virtual Assistive Technology Faire

You are invited to participate as a vendor in the Virtual Assistive Technology Faire - This tenth annual course event is scheduled for Thursday, February 17th and will provide an opportunity for students and community members to get an up-close look at a variety of assistive technology devices and learn about available services. Users of assistive technology products as well as small companies and agencies serving individuals with disabilities and older adults are encouraged to join in on this event. Browse to the Call for Assistive Technology Faire Participants webpage for more information about the event and how to register. Here is the line up and slides from last year's virtual Faire.

Please contact me with your ideas, questions, comments, and project suggestions - or just to say hello. Please continue to stay safe & healthy.

Dave Jaffe - Course Instructor